Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "Paul Roark" 
<paul.roark@v...> wrote:
> Lots of action out there today.
> 
> Martin wrote:
> 
> >...when I read that it is another set of inks
> >without software support, I am finding it more annoying. I don't 
want
> >to see another MIS situation where people like Paul have to design
> >all the curves with no support from the manufacturer and then
> >distribute them for free.
> 
> Fear not Martin, I don't "have" to do anything.  I just have a very 
strange
> idea of what is fun.

Paul,

That seems to be a very common trait with group members. You are in 
good company. <<g>>

> I really just did this because I was not happy with
> the inks and systems that were out there.

Necessity is the mother of invention!

> However, once I have made a curve
> for myself, why not share it?  Once created, it's easy to copy.  
Now if
> everyone would do the same, we'd have quite a nice system out there.

Your generosity is greatly appreciated. I know this may just add to 
the things you are already doing, but can you give us your workflow 
for building a curve for the MIS VM? I would like to lend a hand but 
I just don't have the experience to jump in without getting pointed 
in the right direction.

> 
> Some might remember that on the Piezo list some time ago a number 
of people
> were complaining about price.  My comment was that competition is 
what
> controls prices in this country.  The answer was to get a competing 
system
> going.  So, that is part of my effort.  I didn't appreciate Piezo's 
prices,
> so after seeing how well a variable-tone system worked on their 
inks, I
> started to explore MIS's inks.  Cheaper and arguably better works 
for me.

I think ConeTech may be missing a good bet by not selling the 
software separately from the inks. People could then have the easy to 
use software but have a choice of where to get their inks. If the MIS 
FS was available in a hex set for my 1200 I would be trying it with 
the Piezo driver to see if I could get a more personally appealing 
color.
> 
> I hope MIS is doing OK with this.  One of my incentives was to get 
enough
> users so that they'd mix the inks.  At this point, we are just not 
a huge,
> lucrative market.

I hope that it does prove profitable for them. While we tend to 
complain about the vendors and manufactures (I am guilt as any, if 
not more.) with out them we don't have anything to work with. So 
bottom line it is the end users' interest to see the companies do 
well.
> 
> You'll notice that all the inks can be easily mixed from the 
standard MIS
> quads, and they just happen to be the same densities as the Piezo 
inks.  Of
> course, the toners are also the same, and Generations pigs work 
virtually
> identically to MIS pigs.  So, I hope MIS is making out OK, but I 
haven't
> exactly handed them a monopoly.

Paul, are MIS, ConeTech or any of the others actually manufacturing 
the inks themselves or are the having them made to spec by an ink 
manufacturing company?
> 
> What MIS provides to me is the supplies to do all these 
experiments -- and
> when you see the number of empty ink bottles in my darkroom, this 
is nothing
> to sneeze at.  From what I can tell I get straight information from 
Zeiss
> also.  That's worth a lot.  After all, I haven't been at this very 
long
> myself.

I am certainly glad to hear you are getting that level of support

> 
(snip)

> Before the major ink companies will notice, there has to be a very
> large market of quad users.
> 
> At any rate, it's an interesting time to be a B&W printer.  I think 
we are
> just starting to see what can be done.

DITTO!

Martin